Monarda fistulosa


as named by Carl von Linne (Linnaeus) in Species Plantarum
Photograph courtesy of
Univ. of Georgia Herbarium.
Copyright Dept. of Botany,
Univ. of Georgia, Athens.
All rights reserved.

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Identification Distribution Natural History, ecological requirements, life cycle, and how to encounter
History and medicinal uses Related species References and useful links
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Higher Taxa -- [References: Small (1933) & Hylander (1939)]
Phylum: Spermophyta
Class: Angiospermae (Small places it in Magnoliopsida)
->Subclass: Dicotyledonae
Order: Tubiflorae (Small places it in Lamiales)
Family: Labiatae (Lamiaceae)
->Tribe: Monardae
Genus: Monarda
->Subgenus: Eumonarda
Species: fistulosa

Photograph by Ben Turnage
Furman University campus
Greenville, SC
5/22/99

Common Names: Wild Bergamot, Beebalm, Horsemint, Oswego Tea, Long-flowered horsemint, Oregano, Oregano de la Sierra, Purple Bergamot, Organic Lavender

The most frequent name used is Wild Bergamot. Since this species carries many different common names, identification can often be difficult. Making it even more difficult, one authority may refer to M. fistulosa by one common name, while reserving some of its other common names for other similar forms of Monarda. At least one authority denotes Oswego tea, Wild Bergamot, Purple Bergamot, and Horsemint as four separate species of Monarda (Hylander 1939), while another claims they are different varieties of the same species (Gray 1886). Though all these names can be applied to M. fistulosa, the names Beebalm and Oswego Tea most often refer to M. didyma (See Related Species). The names are fitting of both plants, in that both have an odor attractive to bees (hence the name beebalm), and the leaves and flowers of both were dried and used by the Oswego Indians of the New York region to make a medicinal tea. For more information on this, see the plant's history. The leaves are also occasionally used in place of true oregano in some regions, hence the name oregano. The name Horsemint is also shared with other Monarda species, as well as some mints of the genus Pycnanthemum.


Page developed by: Ben Turnage
Ecology 3500 May, 1999
University of Georgia, Athens
Physics & Biological Engineering Dual-Major